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They have humans do it because it is faster. Significantly faster, in fact, to go car to car, rather than have each car drive up to a window to order. It also a

They have humans do it because it is faster. Significantly faster, in fact, to go car to car, rather than have each car drive up to a window to order. It also allows them to have multiple lines running at once. And it is probably just as fast to have to person handing you food just ask your name so they can make sure to pass it off efficiently. Chick-fil-A is the only chain where you will reliably see a massive line (often backing up to the freeway) on any given lunch hour (or a massive in-person line in New York City) that will still get you out and get you served more efficiently than another drive-thru (or walk up shop) that is 1/4 as busy.

joezydeco 4y ago
CFA has found lots of small incremental improvements that speed up the drive thru process significantly. MCD did the double drive thru ordering first, but my local CFA now has two pickup lines as well, with a heated covered roof. The window has been replaced with a wide open door and employees walk the orders to each car. Simple and it works great.
bitshiftfaced 4y ago
But you can have multiple lines running at once. McDonald's already does this at busy locations. I find it dubious to say that they get your order out more efficiently. For one, having a massive line is a potential sign of inefficiency. Also, there's no technical reason I can see why asking your name from a second person to order your queue would be faster than handling this through an automated system. People like to say they get you through fast, but I personally have experienced long "absolute" wait times, even if it seems like the line is going quickly, to the point of I rarely like to go there unless I have time to kill. This almost never happens to the same extent in a McDonald's line, which is shorter, maybe slower moving at times, but lower total wait times.

joezydeco 4y ago

CFA has found lots of small incremental improvements that speed up the drive thru process significantly. MCD did the double drive thru ordering first, but my local CFA now has two pickup lines as well, with a heated covered roof. The window has been replaced with a wide open door and employees walk the orders to each car. Simple and it works great.

bitshiftfaced 4y ago

But you can have multiple lines running at once. McDonald's already does this at busy locations. I find it dubious to say that they get your order out more efficiently. For one, having a massive line is a potential sign of inefficiency. Also, there's no technical reason I can see why asking your name from a second person to order your queue would be faster than handling this through an automated system. People like to say they get you through fast, but I personally have experienced long "absolute" wait times, even if it seems like the line is going quickly, to the point of I rarely like to go there unless I have time to kill. This almost never happens to the same extent in a McDonald's line, which is shorter, maybe slower moving at times, but lower total wait times.